School Empowerment

Upgrading of science, computer and vocational labs and the library fall in this category. Some assistance in infrastructure upgrading may be provided under this category. Schools may be encouraged to have a scheme of contributing to an endowment that in the future can provide a steady stream of funding for improvement projects. Details of each of the following programs are given.

Science Labs

Science equipment for Physics, Chemistry and Biology Labs:

Equipment for Physics includes vernier scales, slide calipers, screw gauges, balances, thermometers, pendulums, mirrors, lenses, prisms, voltmeters, ammeters, rheostats, etc.
Equipment for Chemistry includes test tubes, flasks, condensers, funnels, measuring cylinders, pipettes, glass jars, weighing bottles, chemical balances, etc.
Equipment for Biology includes simple microscopes, compound microscopes, specimen jars, dissection boxes, dissection trays, etc.
Equipment placement and storage facilities.

The equipment is adequate to carry out all the required experiments in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) curriculum for a batch of thirty two students in one class. Group work of four students in each group in the class is assumed.

Computer Lab

VAB has a program to equip a computer lab with four computers, a printer and Internet access.

The school normally has a number of students in Class IX and Class X taking computer as a subject in their SSC curriculum, although the school may lack a Computer Lab and the equipment. The computer teachers follow the SSC curriculum based on books alone. The thrust of the VAB Activity is to provide a well-equipped Lab and also to go beyond this curriculum to give training to these students using the VAB’s practice oriented module. This imparts employment-worthy skills to the students.

Library

A weak link in the pursuit of knowledge in schools is the virtual absence of library in most schools. In many cases, there is no room available to set up a library. The VAB activity is to provide books free of cost. VAB encourages the school and the community to establish and upgrade the library.

Infrastructure Support

The rural schools suffer from adequate infrastructure both in quantity and quality. The VAB activity is to mobilize as much support as possible and at the same time, to encourage the school and the community to contribute to the development of infrastructure.

Endowment Fund

Too often, the improvement process in education in Bangladesh, particularly rural education, lasts only as long as the funds for improvement programs are provided, usually by external sources. What is needed in this context is that improvement becomes a culture for long-lasting change, which in turn requires a steady source of income for improvement programs. The earning of an endowment fund can provide the means for executing improvement programs over a longer term. The program on the “School Endowment Fund” has been created thus to enhance sustainability of the improvement process.

VAB's School Empowerment Programs

The Table below presents a list of initiatives taken to empower the schools through provision of essential education resources. The School is also empowered through Headmasters’ Seminars and meetings with community leaders and school management committee members.

Table: VAB’s School Empowerment Programs, 2012-2020

Name of Programs	Program Components	Coverage No. of Schools	Remarks
Need Based Assistance	Library Books and Furniture	114
	Computers, Multimedia Projectors and Photocopiers	43	180 Computers, 24 Multimedia Projectors and 6 Photocopiers
	Sports Goods and Cultural Equipment	68
	Science and Vocational Equipment	90
Seminar/Meetings	168	50	Includes “Headmasters’ Seminars”
Performance Award	100% Success in SSC	41
Disaster Assistance	Repair And Maintenance	7	Affected by flood and cyclone